Monday, August 3, 2009

PBL

Random idea aa

We can make a jacket with air spaces in it. Maybe can make an inflatable jacket so the air spaces in it can act as an insulator.

Boxy home (with air spaces).

hot coffee machine

pockets in the jacket to put random hot stuff inside like hot water bottles

Non-flammable jacket which you can like throw in fires and stuff and then take out and then let to cool.

Chemical reaction jacket which has exothermic reaction.

Localise global warming.

23 comments:

  1. The boxy home can also be waterproof so melted snow (from the heat when the preson lies down) will not soak through and wet the guy. Boxy home also protects against wind shear.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Apparently cow dung is a good insulator. Maybe it can be put processed so it doesn't stink and attract flies/ harbour bacteria. It can be made into some kind of paste which can be put between layers of the jacket or the house. This will ensure it doesn't come into direct contact with the person (to prevent him from being overly grossed out).

    ReplyDelete
  3. boxy home is a bit bulky, probably a tent with the proposed features is better.

    ReplyDelete
  4. As for the one on long lasting exothermic chemical reactions, all i can think of is compost, which stinks (which is how the heat comes about i.e. rotting) and clearly unattractive. Maybe if it is put in a airtight compartment ok (but may be very expensive).

    ReplyDelete
  5. Glow stick reactions work:

    Reaction Specifics: hydrogen peroxide reacts with phenyl oxylate when the internal glass vial is broken (i.e. crack the glow stick), light and heat are given out in a chemoluminescence reaction.

    Advantages:
    -feasible temperature (30 degrees celsius)

    -lasts long time (glow sticks last longer in low temperature of environment as it reduces the speed of the reaction)

    -inexpensive (rather easily affordable, a variety of costs available)

    -easily available (check with party shops, etc)

    Disadvantages:
    -need to change glow sticks every night (they only work once, after which no more reaction will occur)

    -need a lot of glow sticks per night

    In general, this idea may be feasible, but I am sure there are better ideas.

    In addition we can combine this with other ideas, such as the boxy home :D

    ReplyDelete
  6. we can just combine all our ideas with the jacket with pockets so poor people can customise it along the way i.e. add insulation with whatever they can find etc. Also, non-flammable jacket probably too expensive.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Though I'm not sure where one would get cow dung from though. But I guess the glow-stick jacket might be feasible.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Regarding the glow stick jacket i dont think we need actual glow sticks, we just need to provide them with the chemicals and stuff and instructions to mix, etc.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Perhaps could have disposable jacket? Not sure, but it is possible. e.g. like in the glow stick jacket there could be pockets, each containing the necessary chemicals for the glow stick reaction.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Also, the packs do not have to warm up the entire body, probably just warming up parts of it is fine, e.g. the chest, back and neck, and the person could kinda maybe curl up a bit to get some warmth. The jacket would probably have to be refillable as well.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Regarding the boxy house thing, I think that it is quite feasible.
    The outside would be black, so it could absorb lots of thermal energy, and the inside would be coated with a fairly thick layer of silver foil, which would keep some thermal energy inside the boxy house. It would probably large enough to sleep inside as well.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Also there would be a layer of air between walls (it would be kinda 'double glazed'), for some insulation, and also, there could be some air vent kind of things which are openable or closable, this would mean that if they manage to build a little sustainable fire, they would be able to channel the hot air through the air spaces, to warm the place up.
    I would also think that the box would be made of something like styrofoam, and/or cardboard, since they are both fairly good insulators.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Going back to the glow-stick jacket again, I would think that we could have glow pack things which are kinda like heating packs, which keep people warm, and are fairly portable.

    ReplyDelete
  14. actually most of the heat is lost from the arms and legs so maybe the heat packs can be there. I not sure how the double glazing thing can be done, maybe can stuff styroam foam bits etc. to make the air spaces

    ReplyDelete
  15. Well I suppose styrofoam bits should be fine.
    As for the heat packs I was thinking to maybe make them kinda like portable packs, just like ice packs are portable.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Can stuff the packs into pockets on the jacket. Maybe can add velcro (or something like that) so you can attach the packs to any part of the body you want to. btw, i seem to be finding a lot of uses for cow dung like using it as a fuel. Also, it is already used by poor people so it can't be too hard to get.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hm ok maybe cow dung might work, its probably no harder to get than glowsticks, and I guess that it would probably be cheaper as well. Just need to find some way to get rid of the smell.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I think if its dried it doesn't stink.

    ReplyDelete
  19. It still stinks even if its dried =/

    its not a good idea to put the chemicals in glow stick, so if we're using that just get the glow sticks. hydrogen peroxide and phenol oxylate are both toxic so there is always danger of spillage, in which case it is not a funny matter

    ReplyDelete
  20. dried cow dung is sold as a fuel in some parts, don't think it stinks that badly.
    Also, how many glow sitcks would we need to warm a person. Do they generate a lot of warmth? If a lot of glow sticks are needed, maybe not very feasible since cost very high.

    ReplyDelete
  21. black is a good radiator of thermal energy also, so isn't it a bad idea to put the box black?

    ReplyDelete
  22. Well but a lot of stuff that retains heat is painted black, its really a tradeoff, but I think that black would be a better idea.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I think that we should be keep the boxy home thing, but the glow-stick pack is probably not very feasible. Also we will probably have a jacket which is kind of inflatable, and that there should be an opening to put stuff inside, e.g. stuff the jacket with newspapers. However, our main thing is the boxy home thing.

    ReplyDelete